Bhubaneswar: A day after mercury soared past 40°C in Odisha, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a heatwave warning on Friday, forecasting intense conditions to persist for the next two days.
Heatwave conditions are likely to prevail at one or two places in the districts of Jharsuguda and Sambalpur till March 15 morning. A trough line extending from Jharkhand to Vidarbha across Chhattisgarh, however, could trigger light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thundershowers in parts of the state during the subsequent three days.
According to the weather agency, thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and gusty surface wind speed reaching up to 30-40 kmph may occur in Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts on March 15 and March 17; and Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Kendrapada, Khurda, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore and Bhadrak on March 16. Light to moderate rain is also likely in some districts in north, south and coastal Odisha from March 15-19.
However, the day temperature across the state is unlikely to witness any large change during the next 6-7 days.
On Thursday, the mercury soared past 40°C for the first time this season in Odisha as the daytime temperatures rose by 2–3°C. Jharsuguda recorded the state’s highest maximum of 40.8°C. Some other western Odisha districts also experienced sweltering heat amid the prevailing dry weather conditions. Hirakud in Sambalpur was close second at 39.2°C, followed by Sambalpur and Sundargarh at 39°C and Rourkela at 38.4°C.
The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack logged 38.6°C and 35.6°C respectively.
